Government FINAL EXAM

A government is made up of

A. Political ideologies of elected officials
B. Corporate structure of a nation
C. Military industrial establishment
D. Formal institutions that rule a people

D

Liberty, democracy, and ____ are the United States' core political values.

A. Capitalism
B. Responsibility
C. Minority Rights
D. Equality

D

According to the textbook, the trend line of Americans' trust in the federal government

A. Rose during the 1970s and the 1980s but has declined since 1992
B. Declined during the Watergate but rose again during the 1980s
C. Rose in the 1990s and peaked in 2002
D. Has declined steadily since the early 1960s

C

The 1960s marks the time when the United States became a

A. Full practicing democracy
B. Participatory government
C. Egalitarian society
D. Compound republic

A

Efficacy is the

A. Belief that citizens can affect government
B. Belief that elected officials cannot be persuaded
C. Process by which people receive their political beliefs
D. Process by which people are satisfied in government

A

Because they understand how politics affects their lives, knowledgeable citizens tend to

A. Enjoy reading the newspaper
B. Earn higher wages
C. Be more engaged in politics
D. Enjoy working for political campaigns

C

Personal and economic freedom are both definitions of

A. Liberty
B. Capitalism
C. Equality
D. Minority Rights

A

Which of the following wanted to promote political participation for the middle classes?

A. Proletariat
B. Presidents
C. Bourgeoisie
D. Kings

C

Who gets what, when, and how is a definition of

A. Politics
B. Partisanship
C. Efficacy
D. Deceit

A

The ___ is known for being a republic

A. United States
B. Nation of Iran
C. Catholic Church
D. Republic of China

A

Direct democracy includes all of the following except

A. Ballot referenda
B. Recall
C. Popular initiatives
D. Advise and consent

D

Generally, America's demographics have become ____ elderly and ____ young since the Founding.

A. More; less
B. Less; less
C. More; more
D. Less; more

A

___ has declined in the past 50 years

A. Republicanism
B. Democracy
C. Capitalism
D. Trust in government

D

A belief in equality of results is

A. A major part of the U.S. political culture
B. Part of both the US and European political cultures
C. Not a part of the U.S. political culture
D. Secondary to a belief total freedom in U.S. political culture

C

___ refers to a system in which the means of production and distribution are privately owned and operated for project with minimal or no government interference

A. Laissez-faire capitalism
B. Anti-capitalism
C. Competitive capitalism
D. Bourgeois capitalism

A

Protection from domestic or foreign threats is primarily the responsibility of

A. International alliances
B. The United Nations
C. The Federal Government
D. State governments

C

Compared to Europeans, Americans are ___ supportive of government actions to ensure economic equality.

A. More
B. Less
C. Never
D. Equally

B

The people are sovereign in a

A. Monarchy
B. Democracy
C. Aristocracy
D. Dictatorship

B

Majority rule, minority rights and equality of opportunity are

A. Monarchical principles
B. Democratic principles
C. Authoritarian principles
D. Republican principles

B

Liberals tend to believe that government should promote ___ and provide ___.

A. Freedom; social services
B. Freedom; tax breaks
C. Equality; tax breaks
D. Equality; social services

D

Totalitarianism entails government having unlimited political

A. Capital
B. Equality
C. Power
D. Unlimited political freedom

C

Political equality means that each citizen

A. Has one, and only one, vote
B. Has opportunity
C. Receives a job
D. Can donate money to political campaigns

A

When members of the polity meet to discuss policy and make decisions, it is known as a

A. Popular democracy
B. Elite democracy
C. Indirect democracy
D. Direct democracy

D

Representatives make decisions about public policy in

A. A popular democracy
B. An indirect democracy
C. A direct democracy
D. An elite democracy

B

The total boycott of all British goods in the colonies came immediately after which event?

A. Washington's victory over British military forces
B. Writing of the Federalist Papers
C. Creation of the First Continental Congress
D. Boston Massacre

C

Personal income taxes

A. Are recent phenomena for governments, arising in the twentieth century
B. Poisoned the colonists' attitudes towards the king before the Revolution
C. Were the source of discord between the Federalists and Antifederalists
D. Were the main source of revenue for both the British before the Revolution and in the early states afterward

A

The New England-based merchants and southern planters

A. Opposed different factions within Parliament
B. Organized together in opposition to taxes imposed by the Stamp and Sugar Acts
C. Organized together in support of the taxes imposed by the Stamp and Sugar Acts
D. Were key rivals that comprise the Jeffersonians and Antifederalists, respectively

B

The Articles of Confederation

A. Preceded the U.S. Constitution
B. Came before the Boston Tea Party
C. Was written at the same point as the Declaration of Independence
D. Came after the U.S. Constitution

A

The executive leader or presiding officer specified by the Articles of Confederation

A. Did not exist; the Articles specified no executive leader
B. Enjoyed the support of popular opinion
C. Was appointed by state legislatures
D. Was appointed by Congress

A

Prior to the U.S. Constitution, the issues of trade, economic, and political disputes between the states

A. Stemmed directly from the inability of the central government to handle Shays's Rebellion
B. Were handled successfully by the Articles of Confederation
C. Typified the weakness of the Articles of Confederation
D. Were created by European traders taking advantage of American weaknesses

C

One key demonstration of the weakness of the Articles of Confederation

A. Was the inability of Washington's Revolutionary War forces to win decisively against the British
B. Was the size and duration of Shays's Rebellion
C. Was the ease with which it could be formally amended
D. Was its inability to regulate the rising economic growth during the boom period before the U.S. Constitution

B

Which of the following is false about the Three-fifths Compromise?

A. It had nothing to do with the number of senators a state would possess for representation in the Senate
B. Five slaves would count as three free persons when considering states' representation in the House of Representatives
C. The compromise create an acceptable middle ground between slave and free states
D. Only three-fifths of all slaves were allowed to vote in national elections

D

Counting slaves as ___ for the purposes of census did not allow slaves to ___.

A. Persons; own property
B. A nonslave; join the militia
C. Three-fifths of a person; vote
D. Citizens; run for office

C

Under the Great Compromise, the Senate

A. Was an arena where large and small states would compete on equal footing
B. Differed dramatically from representation patterns from the Articles of Confederation
C. Could be overruled by the House of Representatives
D. Became the arena for large states to dominate

A

Which of the following statements is false about the ratification of the Constitution?

A. The Antifederalists opposed ratification of the U.S. Constitution
B. The Federalist was a serialized pamphlet that fought against the ratification of the Constitution
C. The Constitution was ratified in state legislatures
D. The struggle for ratification was carried out in each individual state

B

Controlling the negative impact of factions

A. Was a chief aim of the Antifederalists
B. Provides a new government the ability to suppress the media
C. Was the central theme of the Articles of Confederation
D. Was the central goal of governments according to Madison in Federalist No. 10

D

In general, the Federalists' future vision of the United States

A. Saw a dominant role for state power and autonomy
B. Became the central plank in Jefferson's presidency
C. Triumphed over the Antifederalist vision
D. Shared a co-equal victory with the Antifederalists

C

Antifederalists' concerns about the Constitution

A. Centered on their fears about another Shays's Rebellion
B. Included a concern that the Constitution did not specifically enumerate protected civil liberties
C. Were that it did not go far enough to strengthen the central government
D. Were based on their opposition to the Bill of Rights

B

The Bill of Rights modified concerns about

A. The weakness of government, exemplified by Shays's Rebellion
B. An overly powerful central government
C. Blurring the political lines between the branches of government
D. Conflict between branches of the federal government

B

The process of amending the Constitution is ___, leading to a ___ proportion of proposed amendments succeeding.

A. Difficult; very small
B. Easy; moderate
C. Easy; high
D. Difficult; high

A

Changing the structure or composition of the federal government

A. Has been impossible due to Article V of the Constitution
B. Was not done by any of the Amendments ratified after the Founding
C. Has been largely unaddressed by the Constitutional amendments since the Bill of Rights
D. Has been the motivating factor behind most of the post-Bill of Rights amendments

D

As a political value, individual liberty

A. Became less important once ratification became certain
B. Ranked behind equality in the minds of the Constitution's framers
C. Was coequal with equality and democracy when examining the Constitution at the founding
D. Was preeminent for the Constitution's authors

D

The elastic cause

A. Grants the president of the United states codependent legislative authority
B. Gives the president of the United States flexible warmaking powers
C. Gives Congress the ability to pass laws related to its expressed powers
D. Gives the Supreme Court its own ability to adjudicate political issues

C

The tool used by Congress to remove a president for abuse of power is

A. Legislation
B. Appointment of an inspector general
C. Impeachment
D. Litigation

C

Inhibiting effective governance is a possible drawback of a government based upon which political principle?

A. Liberty
B. Pluralism
C. Federalism
D. Checks and balances

A

According to the text, liberty inevitably leads to the growth of

A. Religious tolerance
B. Political activity and the expansion of political participation
C. Political institutions and eminent domain
D. Civil rights versus checks and balances

B

In a federal system, power is distributed

A. Within the federal government
B. Between the state and local governments
C. Between state and national governments
D. Within the state governments

C

Most of the rules and regulations Americans face in their daily lives are set by

A. Regulatory commissions
B. State and local governments
C. The federal government
D. The U.S. Supreme Court

B

The form of government that best describes the American system before the adoption of the Constitution we use today is

A. Federal
B. Unitary
C. Confederal
D. Byzantine

C

Which of the following best exemplifies a unitary system of government?

A. The national government selects the textbooks and curriculum for all schools
B. The national government establishes general guidelines for school policy
C. The national government gives vouchers to parents for use in private schools
D. The national governments makes funding for schools dependent on test scores

A

Specific powers provided to the national government in the U.S. Constitution are called ___ powers.

A. Expressed
B. Defined
C. Concurrent
D. Reserved

A

The power to declare war is an example of which type of power?

A. Expressed
B. Concurrent
C. Implied
D. Reserved

A

Implied powers of the necessary and proper clause allows

A. For judicial review
B. The national government to interpret its delegated powers expressively
C. State governments to modify national government laws
D. The national government to reserve powers to state governments

B

Under a system of dual federalism, the national and state governments are

A. Seen as distinct entities providing separate services
B. Entitled to declare the other's legislation void
C. Seen as distinct entities providing overlapping, occasionally redundant services to ensure that all citizens have access to necessary public goods
D. Equally subject to the decisions of state supreme courts

A

McCulloch v. Maryland is an important case because

A. The Court interpreted the delegated powers of Congress broadly, creating the potential for increased national powers.
B. This case began the era of dual federalism
C. The Court announced that dual federalism did not conform to the framers intent
D. The Court gave a very restricted definition of Congress's delegated powers, in keeping with the era of dual federalism

A

The commerce clause of Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution affords Congress broad regulatory power over what?

A. Intrastate commerce
B. Intertribal trade between Native Americans
C. International commerce
D. Interstate commerce

D

Over what current issue has the "full faith and credit" clause become embroiled in controversy?

A. Food safety
B. Same-sex marriage
C. Death penalty
D. Medicated marijuana

B

Which analogy best describes the federalism arrangement of the late 1930s?

A. Picket fence federalism
B. Cherry cobbler federalism
C. Layer cake federalism
D. Marble cake federalism

D

Gibbons v. Ogden in 1824 was important because it

A. Established the principle of no fees on exports
B. Gave the national government significant new authority to regulate interstate commerce.
C. Declared that interstate commerce was to be regulated by state governments
D. Established the principle of judicial review

B

Block grants consist of federal aid to state or local governments that is

A. Divided into discrete "blocks" of grants, each capped at $50 million
B. To be spent within a specified policy area, though the receiving state or local government can decide how to spend within that area.
C. To be spent on any policy area decided on by the state or local government
D. Contingent upon state or local endorsement of some contentious piece of federal legislation

B

New Federalism was generally characterized by

A. An expansion on the use of the unfunded mandate
B. The consolidation of block grants into categorical grants
C. Granting the national government greater control of state governments
D. Granting state and local governments greater control of nationally funded programs.

D

Which of the following best exemplifies the ability of the federal government to preempt a state?

A. Federal criminalization of marijuana, even when states or cities allow medicinal use
B. Welfare reform, which preempts states from giving benefits to some residents
C. Federal and state governments sharing the cost of a new highway
D. Federal regulations in which the cost is borne by the states

A

The Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Lopez is important because

A. The Court found that citizens could not bring racial discrimination suits against state governments
B. It was the first time that the Court had ever used the Tenth Amendment to limit power of Congress
C. It was the first time since the New Deal that the Supreme Court limited the power of Congress under the commerce clause.
D. The court found the line-item veto to be unconstitutional

C

What is the purpose of the Tenth Amendment?

A. To grant to the citizens of each state access to the federal court system
B. To give each state constitution the same protections as the federal constitution
C. To establish the electoral college
D. To limit the powers of the central government by establishing reserved powers for states and individuals

D

What is an example of concurrent powers?

A. The responsibility of both the national and state governments to declare war
B. The responsibility of both the national and state governments to charter banks and corporations
C. The responsibility of both the national and state governments to ratify amendments to the U.S. Constitution
D. The responsibility of both the national and state governments to print money

B

Regulations or new conditions for receiving grants that impose costs on state and local governments for which they are not reimbursed by the national government is the definition of

A. Fiscal federalism
B. Unfunded mandates
C. Dual federalism
D. Preemption

B

The exclusionary rule was established in which Supreme Court case?

A. Mapp v. Ohio
B. Roe v. Wade
C. Miranda v. Arizona
D. Dickinson v. United States

A

Civil liberties are

A. Freedoms of expression
B. Concerned with limiting democracy
C. limitations on government action.
D. Unwritten guarantees of individual liberty

C

___ liberties place restraints on how government is supposed to act, while ___ liberties limits what the government has the power to do.

A. Personal; procedural
B. Procedural; substantive
C. Individual; natural
D. Substantive; private

B

Selective incorporation

A. Determined that all the provisions of the Bill of Rights were made applicable to states through the Fourteenth Amendment
B. Determined that only the First Amendment was made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment
C. Considers the provisions of the Bill of Rights one by one and selectively applies them as limits on the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.
D. Considers the provisions of the Bill of Rights one by one and selectively applies them as limits on the federal government through the Fourteenth Amendment

C

The Bill of Rights consist of

A. The freedoms of speech, expression, and assembly
B. The Civil War Amendments
C. All the rights protections in the U.S. Constitution
D. The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

D

The idea of the separation of church and state is most closely associated with the

A. Equal protection clause
B. Necessary and proper clause
C. Freedom of conscience clause
D. Establishment clause

D

Which of the following is a component of the Lemon test?

A. Determining whether government involvement advances a particular religion
B. Determining whether governments can force Amish parents to send their children to high school
C. Determining whether the government involvement meets the standards of the rational basis review
D. Determining whether the government has a compelling state interest

A

The free exercise clause protects

A. The right to bear arms
B. The right to believe in and practice one's religion of choice.
C. The ability to move from one state to another
D. Individuals from undue government restrictions

B

The courts ___ allow the government to regulate the time, manner, and place of expression of an assembly, ___ the content neutrality of the regulation.

A. Do; regardless of
B. Do; conditional on
C. Do not; regardless of
D. Do not; conditional on

B

Speech accompanied by conduct can be regulated by the government to preserve public order is called

A. Conditional expression
B. Speech plus
C. Limited speech
D. Pure speech

B

Fighting words fall outside constitutional protection because they

A. Offend listeners
B. Target minorities
C. Are said in haste
D. Directly incite violence

D

The Second Amendment concerns

A. Searches and seizures
B. The right to counsel
C. The rights of the criminally accused
D. The right to bear arms

D

The Second Amendment right to bear arms was applied to the states via selective incorporation in

A. McDonald v. Chicago.
B. Brady v. National Rifle Association
C. Heller v. District of Colombia
D. Lawrence v. Texas

A

Due process of law is

A. Substantive justice
B. Only mentioned in the Fourteenth Amendment
C. The right of every citizen against arbitrary government action.
D. The right to a fair trial

C

The Fifth Amendment protects against

A. Double jeopardy
B. Unreasonable searches and seizures
C. Cruel and unusual punishment
D. Religious persecution

A

Eminent domain is the power of government to

A. Recognize new territories and states
B. Guarantee to citizens a republican form of government
C. Search an individual's home with a warrant
D. Take private property for public use

D.

The concept of selective incorporation means that

A. All civil liberties in the Bill of Rights apply only to the federal government and not to state governments
B. Amendments are added to the U.S. Constitution slowly over time
C. Only some of the liberties in the Bill of Rights are applied to the states.
D. Only some civil liberties are granted to state governments

C

The Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment is most controversial in its application to

A. Jail sentences for minors
B. Prosecuting those with mental disabilities
C. Assistance of counsel
D. The death penalty

D

The Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade was based on the

A. Due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendments
B. Fifth Amendment
C. Right to privacy
D. First Amendment

C

The Supreme Court ruled in Lawrence v. Texas that the right to privacy

A. Limits the actions of social networking sites like Facebook
B. Extends to homosexuals
C. Protects legal abortion
D. Does not cover the right to die

B

The tension between liberty and national security is evident in

A. Protects against abortion
B. Discussions of the death penalty
C. Debates over post-9/11 government actions.
D. The early history of the Bill of Rights

C

According to ____________, the average American exhibits little knowledge of political institutions, processes, or leaders.

A. The political parties
B. The Founding Fathers
C. Recent studies by political scientists
D. Recent studies of economists

C

Public opinion is the term used to denote the beliefs people have about all of the following except

A. Institutions
B. Events
C. Culture
D. Political issues

C

Big government is ____________ considered a core U.S. value.

A. Sometimes
B. Definitely
C. Not
D. Often

C

Equality of opportunity is ____________ in the United States.

A. Not a prominent type of equality
B. The most prominent type of equality
C. An example of output equality
D. An example of market equality

B

The Internet and comedy television are the main sources of campaign news for

A. Older Americans
B. Latino Americans
C. Asian Americans
D. Younger Americans

D

Political socialization is the process through which

A. Political beliefs and values are formed
B. Public opinion is measured
C. Political learning happens
D. Survey research is done

A

Political socialization includes all of the following except

A. Saving the Pledge of Allegiance
B. Participating in mock elections
C. Attending church
D. Participating in mock debates

C

The 9/11 attacks were a key political event that helped to promote

A. American diversity
B. Patriotism
C. A belief in war
D. A belief in big government

B

Family provides most people with their ____________ to politics.

A. Aversion
B. FInal orientation
C. Attraction
D. Initial orientation

D

Family is the most influential agent of socialization in

A. Old age
B. Early childhood
C. Adolescence
D. The womb

B

If you prefer smaller government, you are probably a

A. Conservative
B. Democrat
C. Liberal
D. Socialist

A

Political and voting differences between men and women are known as the

A. Partisan gap
B. Generational gap
C. Gender gap
D. Ideological gap

C

If you consider yourself moderate, you are like

A. Most Democrats
B. Few Democrats
C. Few Americans
D. Most Americans

D